Title VI and ADA Complaint Procedures/Notice - Giles Health & Family Center

Title VI Notice
TITLE VI NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance. Specifically, Title VI provides that "no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance" (42 U.S.C. Section 2000d).

Giles Health and Family is committed to ensuring that no person is excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of its transportation services on the basis of race, color, or national origin, as protected by Title VI in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Circular 4702.1B. If you feel you are being denied participation in or being denied benefits of the transit services provided by Giles Health and Family, or otherwise being discriminated against because of your race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability, our contact information is: Executive Director, Giles Health and Family Center, 701 Wenonah Ave., Pearisburg, Va. 24134, 540-921-3024, [email protected]

COMPLAINT PROCEDURES
Any individual, group of individuals, or entity that believes they have been subjected to discrimination prohibited by Title VI nondiscrimination provisions may file a written complaint with the Giles Health and Family Center Title VI Compliance Officer. A formal complaint must be filed within 180 calendar days of the alleged occurrence or when the alleged discrimination became known to the complainant.

The complaint must meet the following requirements:

Complaint shall be in writing and signed by the complainant(s).
Include the date of the alleged act of discrimination (date when the complainant(s) became aware of the alleged discrimination; or the date on which that conduct was discontinued or the latest instance of the conduct).
Present a detailed description of the issues, including names and job titles of those individuals perceived as parties in the complained-of incident.
Allegations received by fax or e-mail will be acknowledged and processed, once the identity(ies) of the complainant(s) and the intent to proceed with the complaint have been established. The complainant is required to mail a signed, original copy of the fax or e-mail transmittal for Giles Health and Family Center to be able to process it.
Allegations received by telephone will be reduced to writing and provided to complainant for confirmation or revision before processing.
A complaint form will be forwarded to the complainant for him/her to complete, sign, and return to GHFC for processing.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the Title VI Compliance Officer will determine its jurisdiction, acceptability, and need for additional information, as well as investigate the merit of the complaint.

In order to be accepted, a complaint must meet the following criteria:

The complaint must be filed within 180 calendar days of the alleged occurrence or when the alleged discrimination became known to the complainant.
The allegation(s) must involve a covered basis such as race, color, or national origin.
The allegation(s) must involve a program or activity of a federal-aid recipient, sub-recipient, or contractor.
A complaint may be dismissed for the following reasons:

The complainant requests the withdrawal of the complaint.
The complainant fails to respond to repeated requests for addition information needed to process the complaint.
The complainant cannot be located after reasonable attempts.
Once GHFC decides to accept the complaint for investigation, the complainant and the respondent will be notified in writing of such determination within seven (7) calendar days. The complaint will receive a case number and will then be logged into GHFC’s records identifying its basis and alleged harm.

In cases where GHFC assumes the investigation of the complaint, GHFC will provide the respondent with the opportunity to respond to the allegations in writing. The respondent will have 10 calendar days from the date of GHF's written notification of acceptance of the complaint to furnish his/her response to the allegations.

GHFC’s final investigative report and a copy of the complaint will be forwarded to FTA (or appropriate agency) and affected parties within 60 calendar days of the acceptance of the complaint.

GHFC will notify the parties of its final decision.
If complainant is not satisfied with the results of the investigation of the alleged discrimination and practices the complainant will be advised of their right file a complaint with FTA.

Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), GHFC will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs or activities.

Employment: GHFC does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the ADA.

Effective Communication: GHFC will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in GHFC programs, services and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: GHFCwill make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a GHFC program, service, or activity, should contact the GHFC’s ADA Coordinator at 540-921-3024 as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require GHFC to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose any undue financial or administrative burden.

Complaints that a GHFC program, service, or activity is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to GHFC's ADA Coordinator at 540-921-3024.

GHFC will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy.

ADA GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by GHFC.

The Complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant, location, date, and description of the alleged discrimination. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or tape recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.

The complaint should be submitted by the complainant and/or their designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

ADA Coordinator
Giles Health and Family Center
701 Wenonah Ave
Pearisburg Va. 24134
540-921-3024

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint the ADA Coordinator, or their designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolution. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, the ADA Coordinator or their designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille or audio tape. The response will explain GHFC's position and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If GHFC's response does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or their designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

All written complaints received by the ADA Coordinator or their designee, appeals to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation or their designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by GHFC for at least three years.TITLE VI_ADA Form Title VI_ADA Complaint Form

Title VI Plan Title VI Plan